Alternative Agricultural Practices Research Articles

‘Cropaganda’: Mythology of Corn Belt agriculture

Even as scholars have increasingly recognized the role of industrial agricultural practices in contributing to non-point source pollution, drinking water in the Corn Belt remains perilously contaminated with excess nitrates, which pose a significant risk to human health and the environment. A recent lawsuit filed by the city of Des Moines, Iowa against three upstream counties over chronic nitrate pollution sparked heated debate around the roles and responsibilities of agricultural production. Drawing on Barthes’ theory of mythology, this paper explores how three core myths influence agricultural management paradigms and practices that contribute to the water quality crisis in Iowa and shape how key stakeholders have responded (Barthes, R. 1972 [1957]. Mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang). This article relies on ethnographic data to explain agricultural nitrate pollution and the stalled progress on water quality improvement. Together these myths draw on post-enlightenment ideas of nature, security, and modernity to perpetuate productivist behavior, claim resources for conventional commodity agriculture, and impede widespread adoption of alternative agricultural practices. By identifying and interrogating each myth, I aim to reveal and complicate the inherent contradictions in its representation of reality to strip it of ideological function and, in doing so, cultivate opportunities to imagine and create an alternative system that benefits both people and the planet.

Unearthing care: Rooting alternative agricultural practices in Norway and Costa Rica

This article contributes to the growing literature on human-soil relations by exploring how care for agricultural soils unfolds among farmers who engage with alternative agricultural practices across different productions and sites in Norway and Costa Rica. These farmers approach soil as a living being and seek to approach care with macro- and microorganisms in response to soil challenges and economic instabilities. The article follows recent literature on soil care in showing how agricultural practices challenge the dominant approach to soils as passive. However, the article argues the necessity of expanding on existing notions of care. This, I argue, involves ethnographically “unearthing” care: unpacking and situating a diversity of soil care practices, their human and other-than-human entanglements, and how these relations are conditioned by environmental, genealogical, sociocultural, temporal, epistemic, economic, and political mechanisms within and beyond the farm. Considering these variables is essential to keep soil care in the emerging literature from following a romanticizing path toward abstract individualism.

Whole soil fatty acid lipidic signature discriminates agriculture intensification in no-till systems

Argentinean farmers are adopting alternative agricultural systems based on diversification and intensification of crop rotations in no-till agriculture in order to improve soil health and recover degraded soils after years of monocropping. This is achieved by reducing fallow periods, increasing the intensity of crop rotations with maize and soybean in summer, and establishing different winter crops, including cover crops. We evaluated whole soil fatty acids (WSFA) signature in agricultural cropping systems with different levels of intensification in three on-farm experiments in Argentinean Argiudolls soils, along an on-field 8-year assay and measuring at 5 and 8 years after the beginning of the intensification. Contrasted treatments were: typical rotation, intensified rotation with cereals and intensified rotation with legumes. They were compared to an implanted pasture, and a pasture converted to intensified rotation. Eight years after the beginning of the trial, the intensified crop rotations were separated from the typical rotation by multivariate analysis of WSFA. This technique was able to distinguish between agricultural treatments with subtle differences in management, separating the intensified rotations, which later showed higher crop productivity. Conversion of pasture back to agriculture showed a delay of three years before changing the lipidic signature according to WSFA-based indicators. The outstanding conclusion is that mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) are the most relevant fatty acid functional group for land use discrimination, with a similar potency to the whole lipidic pattern. Within the MUFA group, the fatty acids 16:1w5c and 18:1w5c, appeared as potential biomarkers of these alternative agricultural practices.

Intention to Transition: Natural Rubber Smallholders Navigating the Risks of Farming

This study delves into the decision-making dynamics of Indonesian rubber farmers amidst a significant agricultural transition from traditional rubber farming to diverse agricultural practices. Anchored in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), this research elucidates the multifaceted interplay of the psychological, social, and environmental factors influencing these transitions. Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze data from structured interviews and questionnaires, this study presents a nuanced understanding of how a higher awareness of the risks associated with rubber farming negatively impacts farmers’ attitudes, adherence to social norms, and perceived behavioral control. The findings reveal that while heightened risk understanding and threat appraisal motivate a shift towards alternative agricultural practices, factors like community norms and perceived behavioral control significantly deter this transition. This research contributes a novel integration of the TPB and PMT in the context of agricultural decision making, offering pivotal insights for stakeholders and policymakers aiming to foster sustainable agricultural practices and navigate the complex socio-economic landscape of Indonesia’s agricultural sector.

Utilization of Yeasts in Promoting Plant Growth in Acidic Soil – A Review

The ecosystem's biodiversity and soil microorganisms are impacted by the increasing use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which causes soil acidity and limits the sustainability of agricultural output. The majority of microbial functions in acidic soil are inhibited because of decreasing nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition as well as diminishing bacterial and fungal growth and reproduction. In light of these growing concerns, the use of microorganisms as bio fertilizers is a recommended as alternative agricultural practice. Recent times have brought about a change in the paucity of study on yeasts and their ability to safely boost plant growth. Numerous works on bacteria have been made available. The primary objective of the study is to highlight the widespread application of yeasts in sustainable agricultural practices to promote plant growth in acidic soils. All of the advantages that yeasts provide may contribute to the growth of plants. Therefore, a thorough investigation into yeasts may be fruitful and offer a sustainable means of boosting agricultural yields that are necessary in acidic soil.

Calibration and validation of hillslope runoff and soil loss outputs from the Water Erosion Prediction Project model in Minnesota agricultural watersheds

AbstractThere is growing interest in studying the impact of alternative agricultural management practices on runoff and soil loss under future climate change scenarios. In order to address this interest, it is important to demonstrate that runoff and soil loss can be accurately simulated under existing climates based on comparisons between modeled and experimental results. This study calibrates and validates the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model to quantify the accuracy of predicting growing season runoff and soil erosion in agricultural hillslopes based on comparisons with experimental data from five Minnesota hydrologic unit code 12 watersheds. In order to accurately predict runoff and soil erosion in each watershed, the baseline effective hydraulic conductivity (Kbe), interrill and rill erodibility (EIR and ER), and monthly precipitation standard deviations (Pstdev) were calibrated in WEPP using observed runoff and total suspended solids data from five Minnesota Discovery Farms field sites. Before calibration, Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE) and percent bias (PBIAS) values for predicted versus measured monthly average total runoff (Ravg‐T), runoff ratios (RRT), and total soil loss were generally not in acceptable ranges. After calibration, the NSE values showed very good fits between measured and predicted monthly Ravg‐T (0.64–0.98), RRT (0.66–0.93), and soil loss (0.58–0.80). PBIAS values were also within acceptable ranges for Ravg‐T and RRT (±25%) and soil loss (±55%), except for RRT at site BE1. NSE and PBIAS values during validation were within acceptable ranges, except for RRT at site BE1. These findings suggest that the WEPP hillslopes calibrated in this study are sufficiently robust to accurately predict monthly runoff and soil erosion in Minnesota agricultural fields during the growing season.

Constraints and Suggestions Regarding Supply Chain of Mushroom Cultivation in Dehradun District of Uttarakhand, India

The cultivation of mushrooms has gained significant attention as an alternative agricultural practice due to its high nutritional value, medicinal properties, and eco-friendly nature. However, the effective management of the supply chain in mushroom cultivation presents numerous challenges. This research paper aims to identify the constraints associated with the supply chain of mushroom cultivation and provide suggestions for their improvement.The study was conducted in 2023 (February – March) in the Raipur block of Dehradun. The data were collected via questionnaire and direct interview from 60 growers and 20 traders. Region was specifically chosen due to the significant presence of growers and traders. The reason behind this selection was the growers' shift towards mushroom cultivation as a result of untimely rains and crop damage. Mushroom cultivation offered a controlled indoor environment, mitigating the risks associated with unpredictable weather conditions. However, over time, both the growers and traders encountered challenges in the management aspects of cultivation, as well as post-harvesting. Grower perceived major constraints were Inadequate supply of spawn at appropriate time, Unfavourable climatic conditions, no cold storage facilities, poor marketing avenues and people regard mushroom as a non-veg food were ranked first. It is therefore recommended that constraints should be checked to maximize the production. To do that, extension agencies should take up skill-oriented training programmes and awareness programmes, cold storage facilities should be provided to accelerate the self-life.

Storying Sensuous Atmospheres of Peaches and Wheat

Policy initiatives, research, and professional advice concerned with sustainable food systems remain largely stuck conceptualising individual consumers as rational subjects in need of technocratic interventions to induce behaviour change. While critical approaches do account for the relevance of socio-ecological, political, and economic circumstances, the affective, sensuous, and im/material relations — sensuous atmospheres — that are indissoluble from everyday life are either left out, or effectively conceptualised as the inert, given background on which life plays out. Taking the imagination as a key political participant in the struggle for a more just and sustainable world, this article aims to ‘story’ the sensuous atmospheres of everyday life in agricultural practice, making sensuous atmospheres visible as the sensory-material substance that socio-ecological, political, and economic formations take. Drawing from sensuous (auto)ethnographic encounters on a farm in northern Italy, I ask: what kinds of stories are the sensuous atmospheres of techno-industrial and alternative agricultural practices made of, what kinds of stories do they tell, and how might they help to imagine new horizons of possibility in the making of more sustainable food systems? I begin the article with a discussion problematising food systems and the inadequate approaches often used to render them sustainable. I then conceptualise the notion of ‘storying sensuous atmospheres’, presenting the sensory ethnographic material in the style of ‘sensuous scholarship’ in which the fieldwork is simultaneously analysed and evocatively storied. I conclude the article by suggesting that the storying of sensuous atmospheres is one strategy to precipitate new horizons of imagining — in food systems and beyond — a more sustainable world.

Impact of agricultural management on soil aggregates and associated organic carbon fractions: analysis of long-term experiments in Europe

Abstract. Inversion tillage is a commonly applied soil cultivation practice in Europe, which often has been blamed for deteriorating topsoil stability and organic carbon (OC) content. In this study, the potential to reverse these negative effects in the topsoil by alternative agricultural management practices are evaluated in seven long-term experiments (running from 8 to 54 years the moment of sampling) in five European countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and UK). Topsoil samples (0–15 cm) were collected and analysed to evaluate the effects of conservation tillage (reduced and no tillage) and increased organic inputs of different origin (farmyard manure, compost, crop residues) combined with inversion tillage on topsoil stability, soil aggregates and, within these, OC distribution using wet sieving after slaking. Effects from the treatments on the two main components of organic matter, i.e. particulate (POM) and mineral associated (MAOM), were also evaluated using dispersion and size fractionation. Reduced and no-tillage practices, as well as the additions of manure or compost, increased the aggregates mean weight diameter (MWD) (up to 49 % at the Belgian study site) and topsoil OC (up to 51 % at the Belgian study site), as well as the OC corresponding to the different aggregate size fractions. The incorporation of crop residues had a positive impact on the MWD but a less profound effect both on total OC and on OC associated with the different aggregates. A negative relationship between the mass and the OC content of the microaggregates (53–250 µm) was identified in all experiments. There was no effect on the mass of the macroaggregates and the occluded microaggregates (mM) within these macroaggregates, while the corresponding OC contents increased with less tillage and more organic inputs. Inversion tillage led to less POM within the mM, whereas the different organic inputs did not affect it. In all experiments where the total POM increased, the total soil organic carbon (SOC) was also affected positively. We concluded that the negative effects of inversion tillage on topsoil can be mitigated by reducing the tillage intensity or adding organic materials, optimally combined with non-inversion tillage methods.

Sustainable Agro-Food Systems for Addressing Climate Change and Food Security

Despite world food production keeping pace with population growth because of the Green Revolution, the United Nations (UN) State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 Report indicates that the number of people affected by hunger has increased to 828 million with 29.3% of the global population food insecure, and 22% of children under five years of age stunted. Many more have low-quality, unhealthy diets and micronutrient deficiencies leading to obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases. Additionally, current agro-food systems significantly impact the environment and the climate, including soil and water resources. Frequent natural disasters resulting from climate change, pandemics, and conflicts weaken food systems and exacerbate food insecurity worldwide. In this review, we outline the current knowledge in alternative agricultural practices for achieving sustainability as well as policies and practices that need to be implemented for an equitable distribution of resources and food for achieving several goals in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, animal husbandry, particularly ruminant meat and dairy, accounts for a significant proportion of agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use but contributes only 18% of food energy. In contrast, plant-based foods, particularly perennial crops, have the lowest environmental impacts. Therefore, expanding the cultivation of perennials, particularly herbaceous perennials, to replace annual crops, fostering climate-smart food choices, implementing policies and subsidies favoring efficient production systems with low environmental impact, empowering women, and adopting modern biotechnological and digital solutions can help to transform global agro-food systems toward sustainability. There is growing evidence that food security and adequate nutrition for the global population can be achieved using climate-smart, sustainable agricultural practices, while reducing negative environmental impacts of agriculture, including GHG emissions.

Goal frames and sustainability transitions: how cognitive lock-ins can impede crop diversification

Transitions towards more sustainable agricultural systems are often characterised by ‘lock-ins’, understood as self-reinforcing mechanisms that reproduce the status quo and impede change. While socioeconomic, technological and institutional lock-ins have been widely used to understand processes of sustainable transitions in agri-food systems, the role of so-called cognitive lock-ins is still under-investigated. In this study, we focus on how institutional settings create cognitive lock-ins in farmers’ decision-making related to the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. We apply goal framing for environmental behaviour and transition theory in explaining how socio-technical conditions may shape farmer’s decision-making. Empirically, we focus on the example of diversifying crop rotations with legumes as an established strategy to increase biodiversity and soil health, and reduce agrochemical use, emissions and pollution, which still remains rare in European agriculture. We use two cases in the Atlantic pedo-climatic region, Cornwall, UK, and Gelderland, Netherlands. Using in-depth interview data with farmers and extensive supplementary secondary data, we explore how context-specific socio-technical settings interact with farmers’ normative, gain-oriented and hedonic goal frames to shape the (un-)desirability of crop diversification with legumes. This creates conditions recognisable as cognitive lock-ins: the context of farmers’ decision-making creates cognitive processes that drastically reduce the perceived viability of alternative agricultural practices. Our findings in this case suggest the framework developed for this study may help to identify regionally specific, as well as common, barriers and solutions to crop diversification and comparable practices that are relevant to transitions towards sustainability in agri-food systems.

Soil carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture in the U.S. state of Vermont

This study investigates the extent to which land use and management transitions on Vermont’s farmland could sequester atmospheric carbon in the soil. We weigh the sequestration potential of several types of regenerative agricultural practices against both business as usual and afforestation scenarios using the Rothamsted Carbon Model. We split the study area into 13 Ecoregions for a finer spatial scale of analysis, with key climate, soil, and land use data specified for each. Empirical soil laboratory data are used to initialize the model to mirror current conditions under each of three agricultural land uses (crops, hay, and pasture) in each Ecoregion. We consult experts as well as the literature to parameterize the anticipated effects of alternative agricultural management practices on soil carbon inputs. In the simulation runs, we find that all non-business-as-usual scenarios sequester carbon over time, with a higher rate of sequestration in the decades immediately after a land use or management change. Among the regenerative agriculture scenarios, conversion to rotational grazing offers the highest soil carbon sequestration potential, at 1,269 kt, or 5.3% above current stocks after ten years. Of all scenarios, afforestation of farmland to non-harvested forest stores the most soil carbon, increasing stocks by 6.5% after ten years, and continuing to sequester at a high rate many decades into the future. We discuss tradeoffs and policy implications, especially in the context of the 2020 Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act, and suggest that payments for ecosystem services for farmers sequestering carbon may have strategic value.

Managing salinity for sustainable agricultural production in salt-affected soils of irrigated drylands

CONTEXTDeclining water quantity and quality and poor land, water, and crop management practices are leading to increasing soil salinity, land degradation, desertification, and threatening the overall sustainability of the crop production system in irrigated drylands. Assessments of salinity dynamics and sustainability indicators under alternative agricultural practices are needed to identify the right combination of practices that improve sustainability while minimizing land and environmental degradation. OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study was to assess the potential of conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices, water-saving irrigation, water quality, and nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates for improving the sustainability of rice-wheat (RWS) and cotton-wheat (CWS) systems in salt-affected irrigated drylands. METHODSThe study included mixed-method approaches of two years of field experiments, soil profile and groundwater salinity simulation using Hydrus-1D model, and multi-criteria trade-off analysis for the holistic assessment of alternative innovations in RWS and CWS. The treatments in experiments were composed of a combination of CA-based practices, water-saving irrigation and N rates. Fourteen sustainability indicators computed from experiments and simulation were compared to evaluate the sustainability of those cropping systems and to reveal the potential of those practices for improving sustainability. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSCompared to the initial conditions, the soil salinity decreased in both cropping systems, while the reduction rate was much higher in RWS than CWS (by 28%). In RWS, the conventional treatment had the lowest salinity level, while in CWS, CA (permeant bed + residue retention) had the lowest. RWS raised the groundwater table by 25% compared to CWS. The long-term scenario analysis with Hydrus-1D demonstrated that, with increased irrigation water salinity and soil evaporation rates, soil profile salinity increases by 78% in RWS and 66% in CWS. RWS had a higher net profit (+81%) and soil organic carbon (SOC) (-15%), but lower water productivity (WP) (−147%), nitrogen, and energy use efficiency (EUE) (−46%) than CWS. The CA-based practices in CWS improved sustainability indicators with higher yield and net profit (+20%), WP (+26%), SOC (+456%), and EUE (36%) with decreased soil salinity than in the conventional system. SIGNIFICANCEThe study attempts to assess the effectiveness of resource conservation technologies such as choice of crop species and cropping systems, and tillage and water and fertilizer management practices for improving sustainability. This study showed the significance of agronomic, soil, and water management practices for minimizing soil salinity. Further, the findings from this study strongly demonstrated the role of CA in sustainable agricultural production particularly under CWS in salt-affected irrigated dryland.

Decolonizing agriculture in the United States: Centering the knowledges of women and people of color to support relational farming practices.

While the agricultural knowledges and practices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and women have shaped agriculture in the US, these knowledges have been colonized, exploited, and appropriated, cleaving space for the presently dominant white male agricultural narrative. Simultaneously, these knowledges and practices have been transformed to fit within a society that values individualism, production, efficiency, and profit. The authors use a decolonial Feminist Political Ecology framework to highlight the ways in which the knowledges of Indigenous, Black, and women farmers have been and are being colonized; a tradition that makes alternative agriculture a predominantly white space. The authors interviewed 10 BIPOC and women farmers in Colorado to understand what values and knowledges were shaping their often-appropriated agricultural practices. Three themes emerged: people, place, and patterns. By centering these values, farmers create relational agricultural practices that support the well-being of human and more-than-human beings. To support the widespread implementation of these practices, food systems practitioners must elevate the voices and knowledges of historically excluded farmers. Only then can truly just and equitable alternative agricultural practices be realized in the US.

Long‐term agricultural practice effects on carbon and nitrogen isotopes of soil organic matter fractions

AbstractUnderstanding the effects of long‐term traditional and alternative agricultural management practice effects on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and storage within particulate organic matter (POM) and light fractions (LF) within various soil aggregate‐size classes can be illuminated by isotopic 13C/12C (δ13C) and 15N/14N (δ15N) differences. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of residue level, residue burning, tillage, and irrigation on δ13C and δ15N values of the bulk‐soil, macro‐ (>250 μm) and micro‐aggregate‐(53–250 μm), coarse‐ (>250 μm), and fine‐ (53–250 μm) POM, and coarse‐ and fine‐LF in the top 10 cm following 13 yr of consistent management in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] double‐crop system on a silt‐loam soil in eastern Arkansas. Various treatment combinations affected (p < .05) δ13C values within the bulk‐soil and fine‐POM, as well as δ15N values within the bulk‐soil, macro‐aggregate, coarse‐LF, and fine‐LF fractions. Averaged across all other field treatments, macro‐aggregate δ15N was greater (p < .01) in the no‐tillage (NT)‐low‐ (3.23%) compared with NT–high‐residue (3.05%) and CT‐high‐ and low‐residue combination, which did not differ and averaged 3.11%, indicating that more labile residue can be achieved in the NT–high‐residue treatment combination. Results showed significant variations in aggregate‐associated δ13C and δ15N, as affected by long‐term residue and water management practices that would otherwise not have been evident from simple, bulk‐soil analysis or a short‐term field study.

PERSEPSI DAN STRATEGI SEKTOR PERTANIAN DALAM MENGHADAPI RISIKO PERUBAHAN IKLIM : STUDI KOMPARASI PULAU ARANG (BANGLADESH) DAN SEMARANG (INDONESIA)

ABSTRACTClimate change is a serious environmental problem that cannot be avoided due to global warming. This is because the impacts of climate change have been felt in every aspect of human life, one of which is the agricultural sector. Agriculture is the sector that is experiencing the most serious impact due to climate change because the agricultural sector relies on the water and weather cycle to maintain its productivity. Humans alone cannot control climate behavior. Arang Island in Bangladesh and Semarang district, Indonesia are faced with the threat of climate change risks in agriculture. The purpose of this paper is to review and compare the risks of climate change in the two regions with descriptive methods and to examine how the strategies of the two regions in dealing with climate change. The analysis shows that the people of the charcoal islands in Bangladesh applied several adaptation strategies in agriculture such as implementing new or alternative agricultural practices, changing planting times, and cultivating short-duration varieties. And farmers in Semarang district can change cropping patterns or shift planting times according to the arrival of the rainy season to reduce the risk of crop failure.

How sustainable is organic management in cassava? Evidences from yield, soil quality, energetics and economics in the humid tropics of South India

Sustainable alternative agricultural practices like organic farming have evinced interests due to public consciousness about food safety, environmental pollution, soil quality and human health. The study aimed to evaluate the productivity, soil quality, energetic and economic aspects under organic vs conventional management in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Field experiments were conducted over a three year period at ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, India in split plot design with three varieties of cassava, H-165, Sree Vijaya and Vellayani Hraswa, in main plots and five production systems, traditional, conventional, integrated and two types of organic (without and with microbial inoculants) in sub plots. Organic management (without microbial inoculants) (27.26 t ha−1) produced insignificant yield increase (+2.40%) over conventional system (26.62 t ha−1). The industrial (H-165) as well as domestic varieties (Sree Vijaya, Vellayani Hraswa) of cassava exhibited similar performance under the different production systems. At the end of the third crop, soil chemical properties like pH and organic C were significantly enhanced by 1.15 unit and 22.58% under organic (with microbial inoculants) over conventional system, whereas the soil porosity, cation exchange capacity and exchangeable Ca were significantly higher by 9.36, 27.32 and 29.10% in the organic (without microbial inoculants) over conventional. Besides, biological improvement of the soil with higher counts of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes and greater activity of soil enzymes like acid phosphatase and dehydrogenase were also observed under organic (with microbial inoculants) system. Both the organic practices (without and with microbial inoculants) scored higher soil quality index (SQI) over the rest, but similarly (0.98 and 0.94 respectively). The soil pH, exchangeable Ca, dehydrogenase enzyme activity and porosity were the decisive factors that governed SQI in the present study. Organic system (without microbial inoculants) proved to be the most energy efficient as evidenced from the highest energy output (152.63 × 103MJ ha−1), net energy (143.55 × 103MJ ha−1), energy use efficiency (16.80) and energy productivity (3.00 kg MJ−1). Organic system generated the highest net income (US $ 4977.57 ha−1) statistically similar to conventional (US $ 4833.10 ha−1) and organic with microbial inoculants (US $ 4720.69 ha−1). Hence organic practices can be recommended for sustainable cassava production.

Aboveground and belowground responses to cyanobacterial biofertilizer supplement in a semi‐arid, perennial bioenergy cropping system

AbstractThe need for sustainable agricultural practices to meet the food, feed, and fuel demands of a growing global population while reducing detrimental environmental impacts has driven research in multi‐faceted approaches to agricultural sustainability. Perennial cropping systems and microbial biofertilizer supplements are two emerging strategies to increase agricultural sustainability that are studied in tandem for the first time in this study. During the establishment phase of a perennial switchgrass stand in SW Montana, USA, we supplemented synthetic fertilization with a nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacterial biofertilizer (CBF) and were able to maintain aboveground crop productivity in comparison to a synthetic only (urea) fertilizer treatment. Soil chemical analysis conducted at the end of the growing season revealed that late‐season nitrogen availability in CBF‐supplemented field plots increased relative to urea‐only plots. High‐throughput sequencing of bacterial/archaeal and fungal communities suggested fine‐scale responses of the microbial community and sensitivity to fertilization among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Given their critical role in plant productivity and soil nutrient cycling, soil microbiome monitoring is vital to understand the impacts of implementation of alternative agricultural practices on soil health.

Performance of elite genotypes of barley, chickpea, lentil, and wheat under conservation agriculture in Mediterranean rainfed conditions

AbstractConservation agriculture (CA) practices are becoming more important in Mediterranean rainfed areas due to their potential to minimize climatic risk, reduce soil erosion, and improve soil quality and water availability. Due to minimum soil disturbance and crop residue retention, the soil environment for crop growth and development can differ between CA and conventional tillage (CT) practice. However, breeding targets for improving yield performance in CA system remain poorly explored. The objective of this study was to assess the performance of elite genotypes of barley, chickpea, lentil, and wheat grown under CA, a promising alternative agricultural practice in the Mediterranean rainfed conditions. A three-year field study, with contrasting rainfall pattern, was conducted in the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas’s research field in Morocco to evaluate the tillage × genotype interaction and its consequence for yield performance of barley, chickpea, lentil, and wheat. Thirteen elite genotypes for each crop were planted under both CA and CT systems. Wheat and chickpea produced significantly higher grain yield (+62% for wheat and +43% for chickpea) under CA than in CT, while lentil and barley performed equally under both systems. Significant effect of tillage × genotype was more frequent for chickpea and wheat than for barley and lentil. Increased yield under CA, mainly in dry year, was associated with higher harvest index (HI). For each crop species yield was mainly influenced by rainfall amount and distribution (75–88% yield variation), and tillage × genotype was of little importance. The overall results suggest that a specific breeding program for CA in lentil, chickpea, wheat, and barley may not be efficient. Few tillage × genotype interaction, especially in dry years, indicated that breeding target on increasing HI, tolerance to drought (high yield in dry years), and potential yield (high yield in wet year) can help to improve yield performance of chickpea, lentil, and wheat genotypes in CA system. Varieties with wider adaptability considering drought tolerance, higher yield with stability, and adoption of CA practices are important in the context of the Mediterranean rainfed environment. Integrating trade-off analysis between yield potential and stability in a rainfall gradient in both CT and CA in the national certification scheme of varieties may be more efficient than developing breeding programs for each type of tillage system.

Agricultural Research Today for a Better Future Tomorrow

How to support the expanding human population is one of the greatest societal challenges in the 21st century. To meet the demand for food, fuel and fibre, agricultural productivity will need to dramatically increase. However, to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience, increased productivity must not sacrifice the health of the surrounding ecosystems. Led by Dr Dennis Busch and Dr Andrew Cartmill, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Agro-Ecosystem Research Program draws on the expertise of local and international collaborating scientists and farmers to develop alternative agricultural practices that support sustainable intensification for future food security.